Date of Interview: September 12, 2012
Location of Interview: Stephanie Odegard Showroom, New York, New York
Length of Transcript: 15 pages
Audio Clip:
Biographical Summary
Stephanie Odegard graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1969 with a B.A. in Humanities. She worked as a buyer for the Dayton Hudson Corporation, (now Target Corporation), before opening her own yarn shop in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Moved by a desire to help others, Odegard joined the Peace Corps in 1976 and later worked for the United Nations and the World Bank. Her assignments took her to Fiji, Jamaica, and Nepal. In Nepal, Odegard helped Tibetans develop a carpet industry. These experiences led her to found Odegard Inc. in 1987, a company designing and importing hand-woven rugs. Odegard also established GoodWeave, an organization ensuring that carpets are not made with child labor. Among her many awards are the 2008 Twin Cities International Citizen Award from the International Leadership Institute of Minneapolis, and the 2004 Aid to Artisans Award from Innovation in Craft. In 2013 Odegard was awarded the University of Minnesota Alumni of Notable Achievement Award.
Interview Topics
Odegard relates how she first heard about Jack Lenor Larsen when she was working in India and Nepal and finally met him in New York; she describes Larsen’s experimentation with different fibers; his sophistication; and his passion for native textiles and crafts. Odegard concludes by describing Larsen’s significance to the textile world.
Chan Chan (1966) Andean Collection 98.022.203
Pomegranate (1974) Afghan Collection 1998.022.072
Funding for these oral histories was provided by a Craft Research Fund Grant from the University of North Carolina, Asheville Center for Craft, Creativity & Design.
